


Lokiday: The Missing Days

by Artemis_Day



Series: Lokidayverse [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Jane Foster Loves Science, Lokane week 2018, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Lokiday Midquel, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-02 02:34:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16296629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Day/pseuds/Artemis_Day
Summary: Spending every day with someone you hate is not easy, especially when every day is exactly the same. But who knows? Maybe you'll end up liking each other.





	1. Day 32

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Happy Lokane Week everyone! For the occasion, here are some unwritten days from Lokiday. There will be seven in all and will take place at various points in Loki and Jane's journey.
> 
> This one is set during the events of chapter ten, Days 25-65.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_Day 32_

_Jane Foster_

Every inhabitant of the observatory, long-term or otherwise, is allowed enough personal items to fill a medium-sized container stored under their beds. Going over that limit was grounds for a write-up. Repeat offenders risked docked pay or even expulsion, depending on Dr. Ahlberg's mood. She typically fluctuates between sour and really sour, making it even more important to follow her rules.

At least in theory.

The amount of books Loki magicks from the twenty-four other dorm rooms is enough to fill three very high bookshelves. The kind one would need a ladder to reach the top of. They come in a variety of languages from English to French to German to Russian. One appears to be in Japanese. Most are in Norwegian, but with a wave of Loki's hand, all the words turn to English. Jane reads every title; most of them have nothing to do with that she needs. She shakes her head and whistles regardless.

"That's unreal," she says, hating that she has to compliment Loki of all people. "A spell like that… you could eradicate all language barriers!"

"I suppose," Loki says, picking up a mystery novel and flipping through it.

Jane waits and he has nothing more to say. Of course, he doesn't. Magic is a parlor trick to him.

She picks up the nearest book and stuffs her face in it. He will not get any sort of rise out of her today. Jane Foster is a woman of science, taciturn and focused. That she is currently holding a holiday cookbook and it's upside down will not be acknowledged. Jane stealthily switches it out for a science textbook after memorizing the last three steps of a gingerbread cookie recipe.

Five minutes pass before she gives in and looks. Loki is flipping through the pages of his book way too fast to actually be reading them. At least she hopes so.

"Find anything interesting?" he asks. There's a smirk in his words though he keeps it off his face.

"More than you," Jane retorts. "You were useful for two seconds there. Why not make it a pattern?"

Loki tsks. "Come now, Jane. Don't you want to know the identity of Mr. Ratchett's killer?"

"They all did it. Everyone knows that."

"I didn't, but thank you for informing me."

He continues flipping and closes the back cover after another two minutes. Jane did not watch the time. She shuts him out as he mumbles something about the mediocre quality of Midgardian thinkers blah blah elitism blah. She wonders if she poked him with a pin, would he bleed or just expel a stream of concentrated hot gas.

"You should try And Then There Were None next," she drones, "probably her best work."

"If you say so." Loki ignores the rest of the books and stretches out on her bed. At no point did she allow this, but trying to drag him off would only get her dragged in and she was extremely not in the mood right now.

(Okay maybe she's kind of in the mood but that's just the stress talking.)

"You don't get answers overnight." She reads the table of contents. Biology, geology, botany, meteorology, oceanography… all equally represented within the pages of this fist thick tome. All equally useless. The only section on physics is so basic, a high school freshman would laugh at it. "You just don't. It takes patience. Trial and error. Nothing just happens in the real world. This isn't a movie."

"Are you talking to me?" He glances over his nose. His eyes have barely moved, yet she feels them burning her. "Or has your mind finally snapped under the pressure."

"You wish," Jane says. "You're just pissy because I won't buy into your 'the end is nigh' BS and get lazy like you."

His jaw twitches. "I assume 'pissy' is a term for frustration?" He sits up, knocking one neatly stacked pile of books into a replica of the leaning tower of Pisa. "I can't deny there are more productive ways to spend the day."

He gives her a look, but he hasn't used  _that voice_ , so Jane is immune. Mostly.

"It's a term for 'shut up so I can concentrate." She picks up another book. The Art of Kamasutra. She puts it down.

"Somehow, I doubt that." He stands and Jane turns away from him. His shadow falls over her, as she knew it would. She had hoped despite knowing it was hopeless, that he'd grow bored of her and leave her in peace for the day. Loki Laufeyson doesn't know peace, though. Or if he does, only so he can destroy it. His hands come around her waist and she tenses. She tries not to, but they both know the effect he has on her body. Her most sensitive nerve endings respond to him from twenty feet away. Donald Blake had to stick his tongue in her mouth and get her bra off before she was this turned on. "Tell me your theory."

"Don't have one," Jane says (not moans). "Not yet."

"Then tell me a theory." He breathes in her ear. She whimpers. Fuck. "I know your people have them."

"Casual loops." She squeaks the second word as he brushes the small of her back. She never knew she was ticklish there before Loki. "Past events create future events create past events."

"Explain."

"Like if someone from the future tries to kill you," she breathes through her mouth and squeezes her legs together. He plays with her buttons. "Because in the future you do something important that they want to prevent, but in trying to kill you, they end up giving you the tools to do that something in the future. It creates a time loop. You wouldn't know your destiny if not for that person trying to change it."

"Fascinating," he says as though he means it, "though I don't believe it applies to us."

"It doesn't. Too many variables in constant flux," Jane says. "We change things every day, only the way we wake up stays the same."

"So what you're saying…" he leans in and bites her earlobe. She sighs and falls limp in his arms. "...is that your current line of reasoning is useless."

"Fuck you."

"Language."

"Fuck you harder."

"I will fuck you harder, yes." He kisses her neck. His lips are like fire. "So hard, you'll never even think another man's name again."

A specific male name doesn't come up, but Jane hears it anyway. It's a little pathetic, and a little sad.

"I don't think so." She summons the last vestiges of her willpower and pushes him off. She backs away and only now feels the tidal wave of sweat on her brow. It's like she's been waterlogged.

Loki certainly notices. "You do seem quite put out."

"I'm working. Today is a work day, not a play day." For added emphasis, Jane sits and grabs another book. It's an exotic plants guidebook. Close enough. "You can do whatever you want, but I am not sleeping with you today."

She sleeps with him the next day.

(The Kamasutra book may have been involved.)


	2. Day 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick context just in case. This takes place around the time Jane had her plan to use pig Latin to try and trigger a subconscious reaction in Jacobine and prove there was a way to bring other people to awareness of the time loop.

_Day 57_

_Loki Laufeyson_

She never. Shuts. Up.

Loki had a toy once as a child, a miniature model of a warrior which moved, fought, and spoke as a real fighter would. Loki enjoyed it for all of a week before it grew clear that the spell which granted it speech didn't come with any sort of 'off' switch. In his desperation to keep the infernal thing silent while he slept, Loki found a muting charm in one of the books he wasn't supposed to read and ended up burning the toy to cinders by accident. That same dignitary who first gave it to him never offered another gift to the second prince, but it was just as well.

If only he could silence Jane Foster as easily.

'Ood-Gay orning-may acobine-Jay. Ow-hay are-hay ou-yay? Ou-yay ook-lay ine-fay-"

Two hours she's been doing this. Walking up and down the beach, hair whipping across her face, undeterred thanks to the heating spell he'd foolishly cast around her. He should've left her to freeze. As always, he's far too compassionate for his own good.

"I-hay am-hay oing-day… that doesn't sound right."

"Nothing you've said sounds right," Loki drawls, drawing a circle in the sand with his foot. "Not now, not ever. I must commend you for being the most talkative person I've ever met to say absolutely nothing of interest."

"Bite me."

"Except that."

"Kiss my ass."

"And that."

"How do you turn everything into a sexual innuendo?" She rounds on him. "Is it some secret talent of yours that I should know about?"

He blinks lazily. "Who says I meant it sexually? Perhaps you should refrain from such base assumptions. Aren't you a rational thinker?"

She's oddly lovely when she's ready to kill him. The only other person to ever look at him like this was Thor, and there are innumerable reasons why Thor is the last thing on his mind. He steps away from the wall, feeling the wind on his face. He hasn't cloaked himself. There's no need. Cold is nothing to him. It never was, and when he thinks about it, that should've been an obvious sign from the start that he wasn't quite right...

He makes a quick amendment. Thor is the second to last thing he wants to think about.

"Ood-gay orning-may, acobine-Jay." She's loud enough to almost be heard over the crashing waves. "Ow-hay are-hay ou-yay?"

"Ored-bay I-hay ust-may ay-say." Loki grins at her. She glares back.

"Oki-lay is-hay a-hay ickhead-day."

"Now that's just impolite."

"Ut-shay up-hay."

"O-nay."

She glares. If she had magic, he's certain he'd be a pile of dust carried off with the wind by now.

"You won't think it's so funny once I've found a way out of this." She kicks sand in his direction. It flies back at her legs.

"Is that what you tell your colleagues when you beg them for money?"

"I do not beg for grants. They are awarded to me." She speaks as if this is something to be proud of. Some might say it is, but Loki is not 'some'. "And I'm awarded said money because the school board believes in what I am studying."

"Are you sure they aren't merely offering you a pittance to keep you out of their hair?"

"You really want to get thrown into the ocean, don't you?"

Loki lets out a full belly laugh that would make Volstagg jealous. Jane is walking away from him and stumbles when he appears in front of her. He folds his arms, digging his feet into the earth. He doesn't need to make himself look bigger. She's a wisp of air next to him.

"Go ahead. Throw me," he says.

She swerves around him. Whatever she wants to say, she holds it in. If she gets too good at that, he might need to change tactics.

It's nearly night and the moon is rising. Soon the stars will come out, and maybe then she'll be at peace. He sits on a bench which creaks under his weight. It barely reacts to hers and he shakes his head. There are children on Asgard more robust. She plays with her fingers, mouthing stranges words he can only assume to be more pig Latin.

"It's a silly idea," he says, though at this point he's just repeating himself.

"Lots of good ideas were silly at first," she replies.

"You mean to say this is one of them?"

"I mean to say shut up."

"How many times will we go around in circles like this? Has it not grown tedious?"

He supposes it has. An hour goes by and she still hasn't answered him. It's an incredible view of space from here. He can see why such a location was appealing to her for a summer abroad. The stars in Asgard are, of course, better, but that is par for the course and he's not in the mood for another runaround. Maybe he'll bring it up tomorrow or the next day.

She stretches her arm, pointing at the single red dot amid the millions of twinkling white. "That's Mars."

"So it is."

"NASA is talking about sending manned missions within the next fifty years."

"Do you wish to go?"

She snorts. "I'll be old by then. Might even be dead. Not that it wouldn't be the chance of a lifetime, it just won't be my lifetime."

"Not with that attitude." He crosses one leg over the other and observes the red pinprick. "You know, we do have ways of granting mortals extended lifespans equal to that of our own. It is an honor reserved for only the strongest of your kind but I could sneak you an apple if you like."

"Tempting," she says, licking away her dry lips. He finds himself following her tongue. "Pretty sure that would mean spending an eternity close to you, though. Not sure I'm emotionally prepared for that."

"That's not necessarily true," Loki says. "The cosmos is limitless. There's no end to what you can find, and knowing you, you'd spend the majority of your five thousand year lifespan tracking comets. You won't have time to think of me, let alone seek me out."

"Well, that's not untrue."

Loki furrows his brow. Her quick agreement strikes him as a dismissal. Nobody dismisses the god of mischief.

(Not anymore…)

"Are you saying you wouldn't miss me?"

She pretends to examine her nails, but when he listens, he can hear her heart race. "Would  _you_ miss  _me_ _?_ "

They are both good questions, though he is decidedly not fond of the latter. He decides he'll only answer if she does first, and so he has nothing more to say. She has her back to him and her fingers trace lines across the stars. It would be an acceptable (if not very fun) way to end the evening-

"Ood-gay orning-may, acobine-Jay. Ow-hay are-hay ou-yay?"

-but she still won't shut up.


	3. Day 69

~~~~_Day 69_

_Jane Foster_

Loki is late.

Not that Jane has a set time of day she expects him by. It's been well over fifty cycles since their first illicit encounter, and while she'll never say it to his face for fear of swift retribution (and not the fun kind) he's becoming a bit obvious.

It's a simple routine they've fallen into. She wakes up, he shows up, they fight, they fuck, they fight some more, they fuck while they fight. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Between seven and nine is his usual time frame. Ten o'clock passes and there's still no sign of him. Jane's room remains undisturbed, her body untouched, and her thoughts unceasing. She lays on her side, her arm tucked under her head. She counts the number of cracks on the opposite wall. Fourteen. She counts the items on her vanity. Twenty. She calculates the difference in area between her room here and her bathroom in Puente Antiguo. Five feet, give or take.

This was a far more efficient time waster the first time she did it. By the seventeenth, it's lost its luster.

She gets up and paces. Thirty circles around the room make her dizzy and the momentum of her thirty-first sends her out the door. It's quiet for now, but lunch is only a few hours away. Soon the halls will be packed with bleary-eyed researchers desperate for a reprieve from their hours toiling away in the lab. Jane walks along until she reaches the lounge. It's empty, thank the lord. The TV is off, but she's not in the mood to watch it anyway. The chairs are decently comfy in here. She sits back and relaxes, taking in the silence. Her foot taps and her legs tingle like they're falling asleep. She tries to close her eyes but it's like they've been taped shut. A slight tap makes her jump, and she looks around wildly for an attacker until she notices the pencil next to her foot. She pushes it aside and stands, gulping in air.

It's been twelve seconds since she sat down.

"I can't do this." Her elbow hits the doorframe on her way out, but her mind is numb to pain. "I can't do this. I can't. Every damn day on this island. With him. And then today he just doesn't show up that bastard-"

"Yes, thank you, please have the financial report on my desk by three and no later. I will keep time."

The voice comes complete with clicking heels and the potent scent of an entire bottle of perfume. Jane does the traditional 'deer in headlights' move for roughly ten seconds, which is nine seconds longer than she should've needed. Dr. Ahlberg's shadow is in sight and her body is soon to follow. Jane scrambles through the first door she sees and holds it closed, bracing herself for an irate shout of her name. She's supposed to be sick in bed after all.

Dr. Ahlberg is likely on her Bluetooth, though Jane has no idea who she speaks to other than her underlings. She can't make out the conversation through the thick wood, but she doesn't slow her pace. When she's gone, Jane releases the air trapped in her lungs. This is a terrible idea. She inhales a mouthful of chemicals and only then notes the cramped walls and cluttered hundred-year-old shelves holding all manner of fluid.

The doorknob won't turn.

Suddenly, she's not alone anymore.

"I would say it's fancy seeing you here," Loki narrowly avoids stepping in a puddle of bleach. "However, this is by far the worst location for a tryst you've ever chosen."

"I did not choose this and you know it," Jane seethes, "so I'm going to skip that conversation. Now let me out of here."

"Is it the smell?" Loki's nose scrunches up. His senses are more heightened than hers and she almost feels bad for how miserable this closet must be for him. "I do believe it's the smell."

"Yes, and it's a lot of other things." The odor vanishes in an instant, replaced with floral scents like the world's most bountiful garden. "That doesn't change anything. I still want out."

Loki frowns. "Are you always so hard to please?"

"Just open the door. I won't ask you again."

"That was more a command than a request, was it not?"

Jane growls and turns away from him. She huddles in the corner, the smell, and his presence are less apparent this way. Not that he actually leaves. Of course, he doesn't. That would be too easy. She feels his movements; it's so tight, he can't help but brush against her.

"It's quite musty in here." He kicks a mop bucket out of his way. "I didn't know Midgardians had special rooms to store their filth."

"These are cleaning supplies," Jane says.

"These?" Loki eyes a blackened mop head like it's just sprouted arms and is reaching for him. "Oh my, that does explain quite a bit."

"Okay, we've already done the whole 'Midgard bad, Asgard good' thing. Don't you think it's time to find some new material?"

He pretends to think about it. Puts his finger to his chin and hums to himself. Jackass. "No, I don't think so."

Jane closes her eyes.  _'One, two, three…'_

At four, he's on her. No warning, no build-up. He all but throws her against the wall, sandwiching her between hard rock and his even harder chest. His lips first brush, then devour hers. Most days he's all about foreplay, but there's something to be said for quick, brutal passion like this. She can't smell flowers or bleach anymore. Just him. His heady scent will never leave her.

She scratches his neck as he bites down on her lip. He gives her ass a squeeze, reaching into her back pocket. This room is a CDC nightmare, but she still wants to be naked now. Him too. Especially him.

He lets go faster than he grabbed her. Jane is alone, trapped in the corner as he reads the back of a bottle of stain remover. He sprays a suspicious brown stain on the back of the door, then removes the entire mess with a whispered word.

"Much better," he says. His eyes flick to Jane. "Wouldn't you agree?"

She steadies herself. It feels like this closet has shrunk down to half its size. She can't call it her imagination because he can do anything he wants, can't he?

 _"Why?_ _"_  She covers her ears. Her heart won't shut up. "Why do you do these things?"

He smiles like this is a game and he just won. "Because I can."

Jane blinks and he's gone. The door clicks and opens slowly. Outside, the hall is empty. It's ten more minutes until lunchtime. Before she leaves, Jane picks up a dirty rag and throws it at the spot he once occupied. It lands with a squelch and leaves behind a new stain.

"I cannot fucking do this," she moans.

She drags herself back to her room and falls asleep with her head buried under her pillows.


	4. Day 80

_Day 80_

_Loki Laufeyson_

This is much better than being cooped up on that sad little island. He should've suggested taking a day trip ages ago. Now they can explore this charming city Jane calls Los Angeles all day long. It's late in the evening and there's much to do. He dresses them appropriately for a night out, ignoring Jane's pout as she pulls her skirt down over her legs.

"Why hide them?" he asks as they enter the street and a passing car honks. "Your legs are your best physical attribute."

"One, I never wear anything shorter than biker pants." She pulls again fruitlessly. Were he less mature, he might shrink it another few inches. "Two, I know you have some kind of snarky aside planned to turn that compliment into an insult. Get on with it so we can move."

"I would," Loki says, glaring off a man who is a bit too preoccupied with Jane's backside, "but I can't let myself become predictable, now can I?"

He links an arm through hers and they stroll down the street towards a chic restaurant with a line around the corner. They pass the end of the line and approach the door where a man in a suit prepares his speech telling them to go wait their turn. Loki drops a bag of gold coins in his hands and keeps walking. The man's jaw is on the floor and neither he nor anyone else stops them from sitting at the closest empty table. Jane doesn't even question it.

"The cheapest thing on this menu is more than I make in a month," she says.

"Which is exactly why we're here. You deserve only the finest in life."

"I thought earth food was tasteless and inedible."

"It is."

Even he doesn't know why he continues to argue that point. No, he doesn't like Midgardian cuisine. The flavors don't suit his palette and aside from the miracle that is Reeses, the overprocessing of fats and (what were they called again? Oh yes) preservatives make him feel like he's gained ten pounds after only one bite. He's not surprised to learn Thor loved the food here. He's been kind enough to try both pop-tarts and coffee. Both made him question Thor's intelligence even more than he already does.

Still, it's not so important to him that he must remind her every other day that her people are abject failures at one more thing. He would've lost interest in the debate ages ago, except she always has the same reaction. Puffed out cheeks, balled fists, heavy breaths. His lower half tingles each time. He just wants to pound her into the nearest flat surface until she can no longer think, let alone speak.

Why oh why does he give her so much power over him?

Their meal is uneventful. He replaces his roast duck with a plate full of Reese's which no one but Jane can see. She only doesn't because she's intent on finishing her chicken cacciatore and not looking away from the plate until every morsel is down her throat.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asks.

She mumbles through a mouthful of food. Crumbs fall from her lips onto her dress. She didn't put a napkin in her lap. He realizes now what a favor he's done her. She'd never be accepted by the royal court with manners like this, so it's a good thing she won't become Thor's queen after all.

Back at their suite, Jane flips through twenty channels of interchangeable programs before switching the television off. She rolls on her back and stares at the ceiling. There's something on her mind and he knows it.

"Want to play a game?"

They've played games before, all of which involved some manner of nudity. He has a feeling this won't be one of them.

"What kind of game?"

"Any kind." She sits up. Her legs are crossed as she pulls her dress down again. "Truth or dare?"

"Excuse me?"

"You have to pick one," she says. "You pick truth and you have to answer a question truthfully. You pick dare and you have to do one thing I tell you to do."

Loki blinks. "This is a game or a torture method?"

"Both. Truth or dare?"

Perhaps there's more to be said for Midgard than he gave credit for.

"If I say truth, will you force me to reveal a humiliating secret from my past?"

Jane shrugs. "You said it, not me."

"In that case, I choose dare."

"I dare you to reveal a humiliating secret from your past."

She smiles. She thinks she's clever. At no point does she consider that rules only apply to him when he wants them to..

And yet, all the many colorful yarns he dreams up in the ensuing silence will remain unspoken. "When I was a boy, I decided I would impress my father by conjuring a live goat to be butchered for dinner that night. I did it in front of the entire court."

"And it didn't work?"

"It did. The animal merely appeared inside out."

A pause. Jane is expressionless and then, slowly, the mask cracks. She grins so hard, it pains him to look, but her laughter eases the ache.

"Oh my god," she wheezes. That can't be good for her lungs. "Wow, that really humanizes you for me."

"Thank you kindly," he says. He waits for her to regain composure, but it's taking far longer than it should. His mother liked to repeat that story to her friends every so often. No one else has ever found it so funny. "Now, I believe it's time for you to make a choice?"

She's still smiling, her eyes bright and brown like chocolate. He needs another Reeses. "Okay… truth."

Loki raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"If I say dare, you'll ask for some depraved sexual act. So truth."

"Very well." She's just given him the power to break her and she doesn't even know it. "Then tell me truthfully… what is  _your_  embarrassing story?"

She hides a blush behind her hair and audibly scoffs. He commends her for trying, but he hears the whimper beneath it. "Can't think of your own question, so you steal mine?"

"I have sacrificed to your whims a significant portion of my dignity," he says. "I'm only asking you to do the same."

_Jane Foster_

_'Oh he's good,'_ she thinks. She twirls a lock of hair around her finger. _'Really good.'_

Too good.

What possessed her to challenge him to a game of truth-telling to begin with? That might not even be a real story what he told her. It sounded like a scene from a movie she saw once.

"Okay." She is, sadly, not much of a storyteller. Her creativity all goes to her scientific theories. Without it, she is regulated to the truth. "When I was in high school, there was this guy I had a huge crush on. My friends all told me to play hard to get, so whenever he asked me something, I was aloof and only gave him one-word answers. Eventually, he stopped talking to me as much and I freaked out. Figured my friends were wrong and I should've been more upfront about my feelings."

"That would be the logical course of action," Loki says because he can probably tell any woman on the street in Asgard to get naked and they'll do it.

"So I cornered him in the lunchroom, asked him out on a date, and he very nervously informed me that he was gay, which was apparently common knowledge at that point to everyone who wasn't me."

"Oh dear. That can't have helped your budding relationship."

"You think?" Jane picks up the TV guide and pretends to read it. "I was utterly humiliated, he ended up dating a guy on the football team, and we more or less stayed away from each other for the rest of the school year. The end."

"A riveting tale," Loki says, "It has been an honor listening to you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jane tosses a pillow his way. It doesn't hit him. Not even close. "Okay, come now. Truth or dare."

"Dare," he says automatically.

Jane snorts. "Coward. Okay… take your clothes off."

Loki's face lights up. "Finally, something good."

He raises his hand, ready to magick them away.

"Hang on," Jane says, "not like that."

Loki frowns. "I'm sorry?"

"Take them off slowly." She sits at the foot of the bed, her eyes intent on his lean body. "One piece at a time. With your hands."

His subsequent smile, as it dawns on him that she's not joking, is so evil she expects him to go out and step on a ladybug before coming back inside and fucking her until she forgets her own name.

"If that's what you wish," he says as he undoes his shirt buttons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I think that’s a good place to cut off. Have a good night everyone! :D


	5. Day 99

_Day 99_

_Loki Laufeyson_

Jane is more interested in the preserved remains of a large butterfly than she is in him. He knows this because she's been reading the pamphlet on its discovery and behavioral patterns for seven straight minutes. He's cleared his throat so many times his vocal cords burn. Her eyes move across the page at an acceptable pace to commit the information to memory. If she's pretending just to irritate him, she's doing an excellent job.

"Hmm…" she purses her lips. "Says here the Urania sloanus was a diurnal moth. That's interesting. Most moths are nocturnal."

"Are they really?" He notes a strip of peeling paint on the wall.

"Went extinct in the early 1900s." She sticks the pamphlet in her purse; it's bursting with countless others. "Let's go check out the history exhibits."

They make a quick detour at the museum cafe. Jane waits on line to take their orders while he secures their table. It's busy today, though not as busy as it could be, or so she says. Loki changes position a hundred times, but the hardback chair with it's sagging cushions and broken bits of plastic poking his thighs is as comfortable as a rockbed on Muspelheim. 

By now, Jane has reached the counter. She waits for the serving boy to return with their meals. There's a man he doesn't know standing next to her. He's decent looking and tall, though not as tall as Loki. He seems to be talking to Jane. Shutting out the rambunctious children and laughing adults, Loki listens in.

"I mean, I've always loved the museum. You meet some interesting people."

"Yup."

"I wish I could come here more often, but with work and family stuff. I don't get as much free time as I'd like."

"Yeah, me neither."

Jane doesn't sound overly interested in this conversation. She doesn't sound completely uninterested either, and that's what gets Loki out of his seat. He steps around a group of unsupervised children running wild. One nearly trips him, and narrowly avoids a kick in the head. It's nothing personal, Loki just isn't interested in stopping for anyone.

He arrives at Jane's side as her hapless would-be suitor is, presumably, about to swallow his fear and ask her to sit with him. Loki pulls Jane into his arms, kissing her temple, her cheek, and her lips in succession.

"There you are, dearest," he says. He kisses her lips again. "So sorry for making you wait. Shall we?"

Loki walks her to their table without a second glance at the stunned man. He'll most likely shuffle off to whatever hovel he came from or else find another woman to woo. Either way, it's of no consequence.

"I still don't have our food, you know," she says.

He would argue, but he can hear her stomach growl. "I'll get it. You sit."

The food is waiting when he goes back. The man is not. Loki triumphantly carries the tray back to their table. The putrid stench of fryer grease and undercooked meat cannot penetrate his defenses. Not this time. He eats his entire hot dog without complaint.

"Having fun?" she asks.

"I am not bored. Your people have certainly been creative in their attempts to understand the world around them."

She can't seem to decide if that was meant to be good or bad. In all honesty, neither can he.

"I would ask what your favorite exhibit is," she says, squirting extra ketchup on her burger, "but I'm pretty sure none of them can top terrorizing the innocent."

"And who have I terrorized today?"

"Loki, come on. There was no reason for you to go all macho Alpha male just because some guy talked to me."

Loki starts. He knew this was coming, but he never thought she'd be so blunt. "Who says I wasn't just concerned that you'd been on your feet for so long? That has little to do with jealousy."

"I never said you were jealous."

"And I never said I liked terrorizing him."

Jane bites into her sandwich, juices gushing from the meat into her teeth. She licks it all away and lowers her face as she chews. That burger is bigger than both her hands combined. If she finishes half of it, it'll be a miracle.

"I've never seen you eat so heartily," he says.

"I usually don't," she says, "but it's not like I have to worry about gaining weight."

She finishes maybe a third of the burger and then pushes her plate aside. Loki is already done and she gives no objection when he takes their tray and deposits it next to the trash receptacle by the exit. Loki is compelled by an inexplicable force to reach for her hand. His fingertips touch hers before he comes back to his senses.

In the history wing, construction on a new exhibit is in progress. The war-themed room plays cheery orchestral music over the loudspeakers. Captain Rogers' face stares down at them, one finger pointing at the camera as if passing judgment. Loki thinks about burning it, but there's nothing flammable close by to make it look like an accident. Jane is at least marginally interested, which means they can't leave just yet.

"So what's he like in person?" she nods at a mannequin dressed in a more archaic version of the Captain's current uniform.

"Unimpressive," he says. His fingers flex involuntarily. "I was expecting taller."

She giggles, at him or at his words, he doesn't know. The workers pull back a canvas, unveiling a mural. The Captain and his former team immortalized on the wall for all time. Or at least until the exhibit is closed and a more engaging scene is painted over it. Like the history of papermaking.

"You know," Jane says, her eyes lidded, "that one guy in the blue jacket is kind of hot."

Loki's teeth clench. He keeps his lips tightly closed so she won't see."Those men are either long dead or close to it."

"Still hot."

Whatever she's trying to achieve, he hopes it involves a night strapped to a bedpost by her wrists as he licks and pinches her most sensitive areas, keeping her on the edge of climax for hours.

Because that's exactly what she gets.


	6. Day 100

_Day 100_

_Jane Foster_

Yesterday was a fun day with an…  _eventful_  end to the evening. So much so that Jane is relieved when the next day comes and she's too exhausted to get up. Loki waits by her vanity, but if he thinks she's indulging him in whatever game he's cooked up, he'll have to get used to disappointment.

"Mmm…" she moans, pulling the covers higher over her neck. "Did you do something to my bed again?"

"Not recently," he says. "Nothing I've wanted to…"

"Then why's it so comfy?" She doesn't even feel the broken spring when she snuggles in.

"I would not know." He watches out the window with a look of distaste. "There are still places on this planet with proper sunlight. I don't know why you'd rather stay here when we could be anywhere else."

"We were here non-stop for weeks," she replies. "Why are you just now getting picky?"

"Call me what you will, but my point stands." He parts the curtains with his mind. It doesn't make the room any brighter. "We could be out enjoying the warmth. Perhaps on a beach or a cruise ship. I believe the weather is agreeable on the west coast today."

"Wow, when did you become the weatherman?"

"The what?"

Of course, he wouldn't know what she meant. His patchwork of knowledge on all things Midgard was gradually filling out, but there was still so much for him to learn. The weather never changed here, even before the time loop. Overcast and chilly Springs were the reality in this part of the world. What kind of weather did they get on Asgard, she wondered.

She would've asked, but as Loki mutters to himself like a child without candy, her mind wanders.

**

Loki Laufeyson is the best weatherman money can buy, or so the network says. To newbie producer Jane Foster, he is the worst sort of thorn in her side. A thorn would be preferable to him actually. At least she can remove a thorn and forget about it once the stinging dies down. She's stucks with this asshole.

"Today, all of Punxsutawney waits for the arrival of the world's most beloved rodent." He sounds like he hasn't slept and doesn't give a damn that he's live. "Fools in their winter coats freeze their arseholes off all so they can pretend that mindless rat knows anything about seasonal change. Why is such nonsense still allowed in the modern age? We stopped bleeding people dry to cure a fever, why keep doing this? IDIOTS!" Loki shouts at the crowd behind him. "All complete idiots. It's a miracle this town hasn't burned to the ground, but I suppose the groundhog can predict that, too."

At the end of his, ahem, report, Loki drops the microphone in the snow and stomps off through a gaggle of teenagers. Jane glances at the cameraman, who shrugs and goes to get some hot cocoa. Jane would've happily joined him, but unfortunately, she was responsible for Loki. Assuming his little tirade didn't cost him his job, keeping him in line was more or less  _her_  job.

She finds him at the town diner. It was a nice place with good coffee, but Jane has yet to try anything else. Now might be a good time. Loki doesn't object when she sits with him. He doesn't acknowledge her at all. Like she's turned invisible and just hasn't realized yet. That theory is thrown out when the waitress arrives to take her order.

"An egg white omelette and a decaf coffee with two sugars, please."

"Got it." The waitress writes it down. "And for you, sir?"

"Tomorrow," Loki says. He has bags under his eyes Jane somehow missed earlier.

"Er… okay. I mean, tomorrow's my day off but there will be another waitress!"

Loki pretends to laugh, which is probably the nicest thing he's ever done for anyone. The waitress leaves and Jane stares at him until he's forced to stare back.

"Problem?" she asks. She has a whole list of problems, but better to hear his side of the story first.

"Many," he says. "Though one does rise above the rest."

 _'Like your career that you just killed?'_  "Care to elaborate?"

She gets her coffee and the waitress is kind enough to bring a fresh glass of water for Loki.

"On the house," she says, then chuckles. "Just kidding, hon. We don't charge for water."

"Thank you, Diane," Loki says.

The waitress blinks. She looks down at her shirt, but she isn't wearing a nametag. She gives Loki a weird look and quickly departs.

"You have to tell me eventually," Jane says.

"Do I?" Loki runs his finger around the glass, collecting condensation. He rubs the moisture between his fingers. "I've had this conversation with you already. It never goes anywhere."

"What conversation?" She thinks back to the last two days, all the time she's known him in person. They've spoken several times, mostly about travel expenses and where he should stand when giving his report. Nothing memorable about that.

"This," he says, gesturing at the restaurant. "I come in, you follow me, I tell you I've lived this day several hundred times with no end in sight, and then you look at me like I'm insane the way you're doing right now."

Jane breaks her gaze long enough to mold her features from incredulous to blase. She nods at him like a therapist. "Uh huh. So... you're living the same day over again."

"Yes, that was the gist of it."

"Like a time loop."

"If you want to get technical with the terminology."

Jane nods. It's not the worst thing she's ever heard a man say. At least he's not trying to pick her up. She thinks.

"Did you get enough-"

"Sleep last night? Unfortunately yes. My endeavors to remain in bed for the fourteen hours I am usually awake have so far been fruitless."

Jane opens her mouth.

"I have also not partaken in alcohol recently. Nor do I take any medication. The latter wouldn't help me anyway. What I'm going through is very real."

Jane slowly closes her mouth. She knows she should say something, but nothing good is coming to mind.

"Are you high?"

He laughs hysterically. People stare and Jane's cheeks flame up. "Oh, dearest Jane. I can always count on you to liven up my day."

He gets up and moves toward the door. Figures he'd leave her with the check. "Where are you going?"

"For a walk," he says.

That walk ends in him kidnapping Punxsutawney Phil, leading the police on a high-speed chase, and eventually crashing into a ditch where his car explodes. Though he's very much dead at that point and Jane is very much in shock, she has the strangest feeling she'll see him again.

**

"What's so funny?"

Jane doesn't realize she's laughing until Loki snaps her out of her thoughts. She all but bites her tongue in half trying to stop, but it's no use.

"Nothing," she says, "nothing at all."

She rolls over and enjoys her fantasies in silence while Loki continues to pout.


	7. Day 115

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that about wraps up Lokane Week! I hope you all enjoyed and look out for chapter sixteen of Lokiday coming soon!

_Day 115_

_Loki Laufeyson_

Jane calls it a roller coaster.

He calls it disappointing.

The news articles she shows him indicate that riders have a history of being carried off on stretchers. The ride has almost closed due to lawsuits several times. How it stays open after all that is a mystery.

"Money," Loki says as they step off, in one piece and without the need for medical assistance.

"I know that," Jane says, "but try telling conspiracy theorists who think the original park owner's frozen head is under that ride."

"If that were the case, I might've enjoyed myself."

They stop for lunch and after the mild success of their museum trip, he decides to take her advice and broaden his tastes. He eats a Hershey bar. It's by far inferior to a Reese's.

"I used to come here all the time with my cousins," she says. "They dared me to go into the haunted house one Halloween when I was eight. I had nightmares for weeks."

"And where are these cousins now?"

Jane thinks, then shrugs. "I don't know. All over. We don't really talk anymore except a Christmas card here and there. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He'll find them later and leave a few snakes in their beds.

"Did you and your family ever do anything like this?"

"We went on tours every few decades to other realms, mainly for diplomatic purposes." Loki can recall a fair few times he had to talk Thor's way out of some major faux pas. Never once did he get a thank you for his expert saving of face. The only gratitude Thor ever showed anyone was a tankard of mead over the head. "I would often go off alone or have tea with my mother and her friends. They were all pleasant company."

Jane chuckles. "So you drank tea and chatted up little old ladies? That's kind of adorable."

"Old, yes. Many of them are close to predating your species," Loki says. He places one large hand over her head, completely covering it. "Little? Now, I don't believe you're one to throw stones."

"Knock it off," Jane shakes him off. "You know what I mean."

"Do I?"

They've arrived at a ride in which guests are suspended in oddly shaped spinning cages. Said cages are dragged up and down like a seesaw by a larger mechanism. Their screams are a mix of joyous and terrified. It does not resemble the roller coaster but appears equally disagreeable. The line to get on stretches a good twenty feet.

"That one's called the zipper," Jane says. "I always wanted to go on, but I was too little. Plus, you need another person to ride with you."

"I see," Loki counts the number of people waiting. Thirty-eight. That won't do. "Shall we?"

Jane blinks. If she thought he wouldn't take her story as an incentive, she knows even less about him than she realizes. Nevertheless, she takes his hand in a firm grip. "Let's do it."

Loki waits for the ride to stop. As the last rider gets off with a harried yet satisfied look on their face, Loki places them in the car to the far left. They aren't buckled in yet, Jane grips the safety bar as she lets out a breath. Traveling by magic doesn't always agree with her, but she's made excellent improvement since her first time.

An employee opens the car door to let another two guests on and gapes at them. He tries to speak, but Loki taps his wrist. "Time is wasting, my good man. There are other people waiting to board."

The employee, clearly not out of high school, shakes his head and secures them in their seats. "Enjoy the ride," he says unsurely as he locks them in.

"Such mediocre service," Loki mutters. "Jane, do let me know where I can go to lodge my complaints."

"You're an asshole," she smiles.

The ride shakes to life and they go flying. The spinning takes them in all directions. Loki is well aware of his surroundings but he can't say the same for everyone else. A boy in the next car vomits. Two girls in another car are shrieking. Everyone else laughs as adrenaline pumps blood into their ears. Jane is among them.

"Whoooo!" Her fingers press deep into his knuckles. It doesn't hurt, but it's not the best feeling either.

The ride ends and he allows the same employee to free them from their bonds. He won't remember this come tomorrow, but no need to fill his next few hours with undue emotional trauma.

"That was awesome," Jane gushes. Her legs bend at strange angles and he imagines she's only upright thanks to his support. "I mean… I thought when I was a kid it looked fun, but I had no idea. That was so much better than the pirate ship ride."

"I'm not familiar with that one," Loki says.

"Don't worry, you will be," she says. "That's our next stop."

"Before we seek it out, do you plan to keep holding my hand?"

Jane's smile fades. She looks down to see their fingers are indeed laced. Have been since they disembarked the zipper.

"Ah…" she says. "Sorry."

"Don't be."

Her face flushes. She pulls away and sticks both fists into her pockets. "I think the pirate ship is this way."

They pass a row of games peddling large stuffed toys in exchange for knocking bottles off a podium or landing a golf ball in a fish bowl. Some of the vendors cry out for him to 'win his lady a prize' but he ignores them. Jane is not one for such petty things. If they were offering a working telescope or a new camera for monitoring weather patterns, that might be a different story.

Jane doesn't even grace them with a look. She has horse blinders on and sees nothing but what is straight ahead. It's this intent focus which gives her pause as a massive shape takes form. The structure has a black and purple color scheme. Creaking floorboards and lightning play over a loudspeaker. A deep voice periodically interrupts to issue a warning. "Only the bravest dare venture into the haunted house." Followed by maniacal laughter.

Jane slows to a stop as a child drags his adult companion inside. She twists the day pass tied around her wrist. Loki has one just like it. He hates it. It completely ruins the aesthetic of his outfit.

"Loki," Jane says, "you mind if we make a quick pit stop?"

She approaches the haunted out, flashing her wristband for the ticket taker to see. Her shoulders are back like an Aesir warrior marching into battle. All she needs is armor and a sword.

"Are you sure?" Loki asks. They step inside and he can no longer see her. "I thought this ride frightened you."

"It did," Jane says, "but if I can survive an endless day, I can take anything."

"If you're wrong, it could lead to more nightmares," Loki says. "And your dear cousins aren't here to witness your newfound bravery. Why take the risk?"

They turn the corner into an even darker room. Demonic laughter is layered over a rainstorm. Thunder claps and she doesn't even flinch.

"Because I can," she says.

Now _that's_  logic he can get behind.


End file.
